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Alison Myrden has Multiple Sclerosis. Her condition causes her constant pain, bladder problems and leg spasms. The drugs prescribed for her condition render her comatose. Instead, Alison chooses medical marijuana. Come spend a day with her and find out why.

The other reason I moved to California, aside from avoiding icy Chicago sidewalks half of the year.

It helps me walk. The psychoactive qualities do a little to help my legs, but the 'boring' strains of medical cannabis with lower levels of THC and higher CBD content truly make the difference. One probably needs to experience it firsthand to get around the immaturity factor, but it makes enough of a difference to keep me in CA. =D

I'm about half way there to being allowed to legally possess MM in Canada.
The big hurdle was finding a GP willing to fill out the health canada forms and with that done the rest appears tp be relativley straight forward.
All this spells relief for me and reliable from pain, insomnia and spasticity.

Marijuana caused my last and worst exacerbation to date. I believe it pushed me over the edge from rr to progressive. Of course, this wasn't medical grade. It was Mexican grade. Hard to say what it may or may not have been crop dusted with though. I sooo miss it. *sniff*

Marijuana and the cannabinoids within are actually neuro-protectors. It's highly (no pun intended) that pot pushed you from RRMS (remitting/relapsing) to CPMS (chronic/progressive). The heavy metals and chemicals used to fertilize pot however, those do have the potential of triggering a relapse or attack. But MS progresses on its own. I'm RR right now, it sucks, and I too am doomed to someday become a CPMS.

In fact, ask the Google for some videos on 'Montel Williams Marijuana MS'. He's apparently been relapse free since he began consuming cannabis for medical purposes. I wouldn't be surprised either if science someday soon announced that Mary Jane is the best thing for MS, and may even slow its progression.

If cannabis works for you, then by all means, keep consuming it, but do try to find a cleaner source.

i am currently using avonex and the main side effect for me is headaches the day after my shot. mary jane is the only thing that makes me feel better. advil, aleve, or whatever else doesn't even come close to touching those headaches.

i too wouldn't be surprised if the studies proved that mj was beneficial for ms patients.

i've said this many times before...it just drives me crazy that something so natural and pure is illegal to be prescribed in most places (let alone illegal at all) and you can go down the street to the local drug store and get all kinds of crazy who knows what chemicals that are totally addictive and the dr's pass 'em out like candy. my mother-in-law just had a minor surgery yesterday and the gave her 18 oxycontin and she didn't even need one she took one advil and was fine.

Googled 'marijuana good for ms' and one of the results returned was a simple news article about the April 1st 2007 edition of Nature Medicine that indicates cannabis to be a disease modifying drug (DMD). Since cannabis acts as a nervous system regulator, slowing down nerve impulses, it makes sense that it could possibly slow down the actions of those immune system antibodies that are responsible for the demyelination for nerve insulation. Since that action, demyelination vis antibodies, doesn't appear to be a primary concern of the immune system, other immune system reactions, such as fighting off a cold or infection, those should be relatively or completely unaffected.

Furthermore, it's been proven that opiate based pain killers do nothing for neuropathic pain, only lateral pain caused by physical injury.

Honestly, if a thousand people we polled 'Do you think cocaine is worse than marijuana?', I'd wager that 99% of them would say yes. Odd how Glaucoma patients can receive cocaine infised eye drops, but mention the word 'marijuana' and the doctor slams the door in their face.

If marijuana were discovered in some rainforest tomorrow, it would be touted as the next wonder drug. But because a bunch of dirty hippies smoke it while dancing to a Fish concert, it's evil.

Seems I have but one of two choices; live my life in a bed riddled with pain, or get high and live a life free of both that pain and that bed. Now if doctors were only that logical.

Cannabis4MSinBC wrote:Since cannabis acts as a nervous system regulator, slowing down nerve impulses, it makes sense that it could possibly slow down the actions of those immune system antibodies that are responsible for the demyelination for nerve insulation.

I'm not seeing a connection between the two unless mj suppresses the immune system in some way.

Cannabis4MSinBC wrote:
If marijuana were discovered in some rainforest tomorrow, it would be touted as the next wonder drug. But because a bunch of dirty hippies smoke it while dancing to a Fish concert, it's evil.

I would say you'd probably be right if it was discovered tomorrow.

But, the Phish reference is not the issue. Phish is a new band and the fear of marijuana has been around for a long time now. Reefer Madness (1936) was truly the catapult in this country to send it over the top as evil. The sixties was an awakening, but we haven't quite woken up yet. The past 3 US presidents have smoked it, yet it's still illegal. It's big business on many levels to keep it illegal. No need to get into that here.

Cannabis4MSinBC wrote:Since cannabis acts as a nervous system regulator, slowing down nerve impulses, it makes sense that it could possibly slow down the actions of those immune system antibodies that are responsible for the demyelination for nerve insulation.

I'm not seeing a connection between the two unless mj suppresses the immune system in some way.

OK, the full article seems to make a little more sense.

[color=blue]Physorg.com[/color] wrote:Cannabis works because it stimulates molecules known as cannabinoid receptors within the body. The group had previously reported that THC could alleviate disease symptoms, and also save nerves from the damaging effects of the disease - thus potentially, via the cannabinoid receptor CB1, slowing down the development of progressive disability. They had not previously examined the influence of cannabinoids on immune aspects of the disease.

Now their most recent study has successfully separated the roles of cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 on neurons and T cells, and investigated their effect in controlling central nervous system autoimmunity. It showed that CB1 receptor expression by nerves in the brain, but not T cells, could suppress the development of an experimental MS-like disease, by stimulating the release of anti-inflammatory molecules, whilst in contrast direct stimulation of CB2 receptors by T cells was also able to control inflammation associated with the condition. This suggests that cannabis-like drugs may have the potential to block the autoimmune response which drives disease development.

Professor David Baker said: “Whilst targeting CB1 receptors for therapy runs the risk of causing the unwanted “high” to achieve these effects, we can get the same result by targeting CB2 receptors, which avoids these risks. Therefore, we can start to think about using new drugs that harness the potential medical benefits that cannabis has to offer but move away from the issues over the legality and recreational use of the plant product”.

I have used it for the last 8 years as I found it extremely helpful for my PTSD and chronic pain.
Now things have turned MS'y, I am using it to gain a little appetite. Been finding it helps me eat, just a little, without it, I would just not eat. It helps reduce the wooziness and dizziness, gives me a wee burst of energy and helps me think clearer.
If this is MS, then I'm glad I've been smoking it already. The research I have done indicates that it is a DMD and beneficial and I may have just saved myself earlier and more severe symptoms.

I am interested more in how marijuana helps the disease as I smoked it heavily for 12 years. Surprisingly I quit it 6 months before my first symptoms began. could the drug have prevented disease onset all this time? Or perhaps my poor life choice gave me ms?

It has been my experience that MS is triggered by anxiety and weed eases stress and anxiety. I smoked before and after I was diagnosed and would recommend "boring strain" of naturally grown, not chronic, over alcohol or cigarettes as a stress reduce. Unless it worsens your condition.

I live in Calif and everyone I talk to about my condition tells me to get a medical marijuana card like it's a miracle. And it really is.

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